SONY ex1 help!

Hi, I shot some footage (20 hours) with the Sony ex1 and I have it all stored on a HD. I didn't use XDCAM EX Clip Browser, since I just got it and didn't know how to use it when I imported all my footage. So I just copied the clips from the SxS cards on to the HD.

I now have the problem where I need to rename all my files on my HD, so my coworkers can have the same paths as I do, with description If you understand what I mean.

As you know, the Ex1 creates Mpeg4 clips, but I can't watch them with Quicktime, (I'm on a leopard, newest version of both leopard and quicktime pro) but I have to open them with VLC?

If you know how to rename the source file via Clip Browser, or how I can watch those darn clips without having to go "open with - VLC, and then [Apple + i] - to change the file name" every time I need to watch what I shot, so that I later on can rename the source file it would be much appricieted!

Im on a MacBook Pro, if you need more specifics, ask. Please help me as that would save me ALOT of work and precious time!

This presents the million dollar question: Did you copy the BPAV folders to your hard drive, just the MP4 files, or did you try to combine everything? If you did anything but the first one, you just made a terrible mess of things. This piece of information is necessary to help you out.

"I didn't use XDCAM EX Clip Browser, since I just got it and didn't know how to use it when I imported all my footage."

Big mistake. I'm not going to get all snooty and berate you for it, but you really should have learned the workflow beforehand. This tapeless stuff is very particular about workflow. If you didn't use Clip Browser, and can't organize your clips, I doubt that you've successfully "imported all my footage."

I'm a nerd, and have been a taskmaster around here as far as the XDCAM workflow goes, so I don't have any experience to draw upon as far as rescuing a pile of orphan clips. In any case, we need to know just what exactly you have on your hard drive waiting for import: Do you have BPAV folders for each card? Do you have the various subfolders? Do you simply have the MP4 files? That's going to have to be the starting point.

Do NOT try to rename anything in Finder at this point unless you want to dig your hole deeper.
If you have the MP4s orphaned from the metadata, they can be rescued.
If you have BPAV untouched, you can organize the parent folders.
NEVER rename the BPAV or any of its contents.

We'll have a hard time rebuilding the "engine" unless you tell us how you took it apart though.

Why would you even bother trying to name them during a shoot? Why would you have to?
Copy with ClipBrowser. Log at a future time. ClipBrowser reads the clips from anything including the hard drive you copied them to.

XDCAM Transfer is much better logging utility.

Also note the challenge of reconstituting a project if clips in project don't match archived clips (ARCHIVE THE BPAV) though. Please think through your workflow before digging more holes.

One reason many of us use MxR, MxM, Hoodman with SDHC is that they are much cheaper than SxS and one never has to offload during a shoot. Offloading during a shoot is a good way for human error to muck things up. The fact that you are concerned about offload time with SxS is a VERY GOOD reason why you need to rethink your workflow.

The problem I have now then is that I don't know how to use clip browser correctly, I have the newest version.

And the few clips that I had renamed (5), I was able to find them again.
Is there any difference between the upper and the lower window in clip browser, the ones to the left? or are they just there to make things less complicated when copying?

haha I think I actually just found something out. you are welcome to laugh at me for being a noob, but I "managed" to copy my first day shoot to another folder, and a BPAV folder appered, with the same clips, and the same size of the folder so I assume they are the same.

Question though, In the first folder there are a bunch of .mxf files, they weren't copied, do I need them?

My concern about logging is that after you're done with a project and deleted the files on hard drive.
Months later you need to reconstitute the project and have the original BPAV but the file names on those don't match the file names in FCP. FCP might track the files through UMID (file ID that doesn't change) but I haven't tested that.

Unlike P2, BPAV files have an intelligent number system so I leave it at that.
For example, I set the file name in camera to begin with 3PV and thus are numbered 3PV0001, etc.I can always make notes next to the clip but I want to know a year from now that 3PV0971 in my sequence is a given file if I need to pull it back from my optical disk backup.

You can change the AlphaNumeric in the camera . . . for example it can represent a given camera on a multicam shoot or the abbreviation for the client. Key is NEVER duplicate a number. Doug Jensen warns about that in his EX training DVD. The last thing you want is two 3PV0971 files. Imagine naming a shot JohnCloseUp3 only to have to go through 3 different shoots with JohnCloseUp3 to find which one was in your timeline. Basically I want the clip name to be a UNIQUE identifier and I save the description for the shot note.

The way to do it (for now - AUGUST 2009) is Download the camera chip in VEGAS 9 using DEVICE EXPLORER - under "VIEW" (in VEGAS 9) and it will bring your clips into VEGAS to handle them. If you already brought the whole BPAV File into your hard drive, you can get all those clips named and trimmed in the XDCAM CLIP BROWSER EX- THEN EXPORT THEM FROM the XDCAM EX Clip Browser to another folder (hit shift & highlight all the clips you want to CONVERT TO .MXF Files at once) using FILE - EXPORT - Export convert to MXF for NLE - and they are just as beautiful as VLC. They don't crash like VLCs in high quality. The cameras firewire can only transfer 25 MPS so the higher resolution settings on the camera are no good to plain old "play" through the firewire.

Mark at Video Wholesale Services - Salt Lake City, Utah.

We need better workflow. Also your XDCAM Clip Browser needs a fix for the display, it looks like "I Dreamed of Jeannie" all W-a-v-e-y on playback, like it needs an adjustment to the video interlace (which there currently is NO adjustment for.)